Systems · Divine/ Spirit · Defining
The God of Small Things
Golden
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For want of a nail a horse was lost For want of a horse a rider was lost For want of a rider a message was lost For want of a message a battle was lost For want of a battle a kingdom was lost... Which serves as a warning not to get on the wrong side of the God of Smalll Things.
Arkon is the God of Small Things. Religious scholars are unsure of where he came from. Some think that he is one of the last of the small gods from the distant times when every valley and mountain and plain had its god or goddess, others that he is made up of leftover religious belief or, like Mathom, the God of Delays was once a human who found a way of elevating himself to the divine. He can hardly be thought of as a powerful god-not for him the smiting of sinners with lightning bolts, although he might be able to manage a jolt of static electricity.
His priests and priestesses normally have other jobs and he has no cathedrals and very few churches dedicated to Him and the circle, which is His symbol. Although it would seem to be little more then a cult, his religion survives unharmed by the big religions that have swallowed up or persecuted most or all of the other faiths in their territory. Partly it is because it is easily overlooked-very little clerical wealth to take, no grand buildings, and the clerics like to stay quietly in the background. Partly because of the rumours of what happens if you bring pain to, let alone kill, a cleric of Arkon.
One rumour was about a renegade general in the early days of Queen Yocastas rule who thought he could seize the throne by force. One the way one of his aides decided to molest and beat a pretty young priestess of Arkon just for the fun of it whilst the general looked on. When the generals forces and those of the Queen met in battle it was in the balance when the general sent this aide with a message to summon the reserve troops. As he galloped towards them a nail came loose on his horse, which threw a shoe and then the aide, whos neck snapped when he hit the ground badly.
The message never reached its destination and the generals finest unit died waiting for the reinforcements that never came. With their loss the battle and with it the Queendom was lost, and as the general was asked his last words a few days later before the sentence of beheading for treason was carried out, he said that he wished he had never angered the God of Small Things by harming His clergy. The clergy of Arkon take great pleasure in spreading stories like this and it tends to make those who would harm them think twice.
For those who donate a coin or two to Arkons priesthood, all kinds of little things will go right for them. The rainstorm or the blizzard will wait the extra few minutes for them to take shelter. The armed man chasing them will trip over his shoelaces and fall flat on his face (and if they are really lucky, on his sword.) Messages will reach them on time, shopkeepers and city guards will be in good moods and they will have a general aura of good luck about them. It wont normally be enough to get them out of dire danger, but it will make their lives better in a myriad of small ways.
For those who would persecute Arkons worshippers on the other hand, what little things can go wrong will go wrong. When out on the plains, the weather will often choose just that moment to go bad, not normally with anything deadly or highly dangerous, but with good old fashioned rain. Sleeping guards wake up just when they try and pass them. The gate guard at the city gates turns out to be really grouchy on that day and demands a bribe to let them in. If meeting a high ranking noble they end up struck with smelly flatulence. Shopkeepers swindle an extra coin or two from them, swords stick in the sheath at the worst possible moment, and whatever minor things can go wrong do go wrong.
Whilst not a God that demands a great deal of respect, Arkon should not be needlessly slighted either.
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I really like this one Cheka!
The devil is in the details, eh? Well done!
This is entertaining! I wonder if he is also a god of children and young beasts, being a god of small things. :)
It was time somebody took that sphere of influence, and make something of it. I like those 'little gods'.
Cheka - Can I get the name of the General? I pulled this post in for the Quest and would like to use it.
General John Chard, I think (not the same Chard as in another submission of mine.)
Should Arkon be a lifeform?
I think the categorization is just fine.
*donates a coin or two to Arkon's priesthood, just in case*
Good one Cheka! Great opening and great concept! Is that quote form somewhere? Just curious.
While not long enough for me I greatly enjoyed this. I did a search for Mathom and found this. Very nice. It piques my intrest as Temrep did for me in the beginning. Very well done.
Must say, I like this one
At the very least this is good solid background material - logical and believable
Also offers some interesting (and potentially entertaining) opportunities - my evil little GMs mind is already working overtime - tee hee hee
good background, entertaining, and useful - 4/5
Very nice addition to any pantheon. While subtle and at first glance relatively harmless, such a god can prove to me more devilishly powerful than even one of the more well known and feared deities of war.
I particularly love the intro, it present the sub quite nicely, one of your best subs yet Cheka. 5/5
Love this god! Used him in my game to make the PCs get a boost in luck. Well written story and all the details are right. 5/5
Vote, bump and HoH! Good one Cheka!
Like ot a lot!
Huh, kind of like Murphy's Law personified. I read this a long time ago but forgot to comment -- a grave oversight that I'm correcting now. This is one of my favorite articles on the Citadel. If I ever ran a game with Placeholder Gods, I would definitely include Arkon. Thanks for writing this, Cheka.
Like the idea of this seemingly harmless god that could turn the balance of things. Esp like the poem thrown in the summary
*Commented on for the Commenting Challenge
The small things are always important, as personified by Arkon. Its a nice touch with the story of the General.
A very nicely written-up little deity. Thanks.
I found this completely charming, thank you for writing it